After showing virtually no willingness to compromise, the ruling KMT has become more accepting of some of the student demands. Today Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the government is open to drafting a screening mechanism for future cross-strait agreements. But he is unwilling for review of the cross-strait trade-in-services pact to be postponed until this screening mechanism is in place. ##

In joint statement, university presidents call for communication between government, students (2014/03/28)

University presidents have mixed feels about the student protests. While most are pleased to see their students passionate about national affairs, the presidents are not happy to see the students skipping classes.

Opposition releases poll showing support for trade pact to be renegotiated (2014/03/28)

The student occupation of the Legislature has drawn more attention to the trade-in-services pact Taiwan signed with China. That has helped many people better understand the agreement, and over 70 percent of respondents feel it should be renegotiated, according to a poll conducted by the opposition DPP.

Chen Prepares for Season Start
Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin is preparing for his first start of the season for the Baltimore Orioles. The outing will likely be Friday, April 4 against the defending MLB champs, the Boston Red Sox. Today in Chen’s bullpen session, the Orioles deliberately reduced his number of pitches to prepare him for next week’s start. The Orioles also recently departed their Florida spring training base and returned to Baltimore to prepare for the start of the season.

Student protesters call for public protest on Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday (2014/03/27)

As the occupation of the Legislature over the cross-strait trade-in-services pact entered its tenth day, students called for a mass demonstration this Sunday. Organizers are calling for protesters to convene on Ketagalan Boulevard and show solidarity in their opposition to the trade pact.

Former president who faced his own student revolt speaks about the impasse (2014/03/27)

The current student revolt against the trade-in-services agreement may evoke memories of the six-day White Lily student movement in 1990 that pushed for direct presidential elections. Then President Lee Teng-hui met with student protesters to diffuse the situation, and on Thursday he talked about the experience.

Clashes between police and protesters at the Executive Yuan early Monday morning have led the two sides to blame each other for the confrontation. Supporters of the protesters have accused the police of using excessive force while the government has defended the police, saying it was the students who resisted police efforts to evict them from the government compound.

Students from Premier Jiang’s old department call on him to step down (2014/03/27)

Premier Jiang Yi-huah used to teach political science at National Taiwan University, but his former department has turned on him for his handling of protests against a controversial trade-in-services pact with China. Some 760 NTU political science students and graduates have signed a petition asking Jiang to step down. A protest was also held on Thursday to further vent their displeasure.

Dennis Wei, a student detained but later released by police for his involvement in the siege of the Executive Yuan, gave a lecture attracting 300 students Wednesday night. The event at National Chiao Tung University was scheduled to take place indoors but had to be moved outdoors to accommodate the crowd.